Hostage

The End Of It All

Kimberly's POV

My heart was racing, and my hands were trembling against my will.

When I looked at Keenan, I could sense that he was uncomfortable. I could sense his discomfort. I could sense pain, fear.

It was unlike him to give off so much emotions all at once and deep down in my heart, I knew that whatever he was about to say was going to change things, I just didn't know to what extent.

And it terrified me.

Dissociative Identity Disorder?

I knew it was a mental condition of some sort but I would be lying if I said I knew much about it.

"On the day of my high school graduation, I lost my father in a car accident." He started softly, glancing down at his hands. "I had asked them to go ahead; my father and my brothers. So I could hang out with some of my friends." He added, raising his head to glance out the window. "A while later, Andre called me." He continued, his eyebrows furrowing. "I don't remember what we were talking about, I only remember that Jason was throwing a tantrum." He added before he exhaled loudly. "We were talking when the accident happened." He added, smiling sadly. I gasped, feeling tears cloud my vision. "I heard every single scream, every single crash." He continued, his voice quivering. "And I couldn't help it. I couldn't help them. I was helpless and numb," He paused. "Damaged." He whispered.

"Keenan, I'm so sorry." I breathed, feeling a tear drop roll down my cheeks. He turned to face me and I raised my hand immediately, wiping the tear away. He nodded swiftly, acknowledging my words before he continued.

"The accident left my father in a coma and Jason lost his memory from before the moment of the accident." He added. "He was seven, and he was so traumatised, he was so broken, mother had to change his name because he couldn't stand the sound of his old one." He added, flicking his tongue over his lower lip. "I lost so much, Kim. My family lost so much." He continued, turning away when tears began to fill his eyes. "And I couldn't control it. I could not control the damage."

"I would do absolutely anything for my family." He had said these words to me after our first night together. I was beginning to understand why now. Slowly, I reached for his hand and then placed my hand over it. I wanted to comfort him somehow but I didn't know what to do or say. He glanced down at our joined hands before he let out a shaky breath. He pulled his hand away and then placed my hands in his instead.

"What happened to Andre?" I asked softly. He turned to face me, his eyebrows furrowing. I could sense his hesitation before he answered.

"Andre developed a mental illness." He said slowly, nearly choking on his words.

'What do you know about dissociative identity disorder?'

"It- it's an identity crisis characterized by the presence of two of more personalities in one body." He continued, lowering his gaze when my eyebrows furrowed.

Suddenly, it had become really difficult to understand the words he was saying. I couldn't process his words to make sense.

How could Andre who had calmed me down on the day of my wedding, Andre who had walked me down the aisle have a mental condition? How could he not be okay?

"I know it's a lot to take in at once." Keenan said, interrupting my thoughts. "But time is not on our side Kim." He breathed. I could hear the sadness in his voice as he spoke and my heart bled for him. "I have so much to say. So much." He continued. I drew in a deep breath and then exhaled.

"Tell me, Keenan." I urged him to continue.

"Dre's other personality, Tyrese is dangerous and impulsive. None of us knew." He said, turning to face me. "None of us knew that something was wrong with Dre until he made his first mistake. Dre, he-" He paused, the rest of his words seemingly stuck in his throat. "Tyrese killed someone." He added, his gaze unsteady. I gasped, placing my free hand over my mouth. I knew it was best if I didn't react, I knew it would be better if I was unfazed by the news but it was hard to hide the shock I was experiencing. "I-It was years ago, Kim. We were- we were young, and scared. We didn't know what else to do and so we covered it up- I covered it up." He stammered, his voice breaking. "I covered it up." He echoed, running his fingers through his hair. I could tell that he was on the verge of falling apart and I knew that it was wrong to judge him since mother had done much worse but as much as I wanted to hug him and told him I didn't care about the bad he had done, I couldn't help the bile rising in my throat. And I tried to keep it down because I knew that vomiting right now would only make things worse for him.

"Countless people died." His voice broke. " And I was so scared of my family being torn apart. Dre, he's so- unstable. He would never have been able to take the criticism, the discrimination-"

"Keenan-" I breathed, choking back a sob. I could feel tears cloud my vision, threatening to fall from my eyes. "I don't want to hear anymore." I shut my eyes. I know I had asked for it, for the truth, but I didn't want to hear anymore.

I didn't want to hear that he was capable of covering up murders, that he was capable of something so.. monstrous.

Even if he was done it with the purest intentions, there was no justification for evil. I had learned that from being raised by a person like my mother.

And then the realization hit me.

The realization that the story had just begin. The realization that there was worse coming.

"Hear me out, Kim." He winced and it was painful to watch. But it wasn't a request. I realized it wasn't when he locked the car doors, making it impossible for me to leave even if I wanted to. "Please, hear me out." He added. I drew in a deep breath and then exhaled, willing myself to stay calm, willing myself to be understanding. "Andre was getting better." He said softly. "He- He met a girl and he was getting better. His therapist, Michelle said so." He paused, biting down on his lower lip for a second. "And I don't know what happened.I don't-" He paused. "Things were going so well but then Michelle died." He placed his free hand over his mouth, the words 'Tyrese killed Michelle' hanging in the air.

"Sam Levine came after us." He paused to draw in a deep breath. "Kimberly, you once asked me why I got married to you." He said softly, turning to face me. I felt my breath hitch, I felt my knees buckle, I felt my entire body begin to tremble. And I could feel his hand tremble in mine.

If meeting Keenan had had anything to do with Andre's condition then I wasn't sure I wanted to hear about it.

"Your mother found out about Andre's condition." He said, flicking his tongue over his lower lip and I shut my eyes,holding my breath. I didn't dare breathe, or move, or make a sound. "We- we were done, Kim. We were going to turn ourselves in, we were going to try and be better. That masked party was thrown in honor of Dre." He said meeting my gaze. "Gloria called me for days before the party. She said she had something important to tell me. She- she said she had a way out, a way to fix things. And I believed her. I believed because I was desperate, and because I needed another way out." He said, releasing a shaky breath. "But you weren't the only one Gloria brought to the party that day, Kim." He told me. " I didn't know it back then but she brought Sam Levine too." He added.

And I felt my body go numb.